The Costas Verdes project planted ten saman trees in Playa Guiones’ parking lots this July 4th.
Three project employees planted, with the help of volunteers, these native species that will reach 30 meters in height in around 15 years.
The project aims to restore the natural bridge that connects the Guiones Northern Parking Lot with the Cemetery Parking Lot. This would help monkeys and other tree-dwelling species in the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge.
Currently, the saman are two or three meters tall; five were planted within the parking lots to form a natural roof to protect the vehicles of beach visitors. The other five will be part of the bridge that will connect both lots.
Gerardo Bolaños, the Project Director for Costas Verdes, feels that the reforestation process has been slow because the sandy soil made growth difficult for the species that were planted in the community.
In addition to the planting, the group will give the samans organic soil cover, fertilizer, water in the summer, and constant monitoring to prevent future plagues.
“We want people to know that the trees are here to complement the parking lots, not make them smaller,” said Bolaños.
From Pasture to Refuge
The Costas Verdes project started working in Nosara in 2011. They wanted to transform pastureland into part of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge.
Gerardo Bolaños mentioend that their goal is to repopulate the area with native species that they themselves gather and germinate.
“We take trips to collect seeds. We have a nursery in Playa Guiones where we reproduce five thousand trees annually to reforest Playa Ostional, Playa Camaronal, and Playa Garza,” he said.
The project is financed with donations from local businesses and tourists who have helped the project plant nearly 15 thousand trees in the last six years.
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